This year, approximately 60,000 kilos of fireworks were seized, according to figures from the Prosecution. That quantity will increase slightly because the last week of the year is not included, but most likely the catch will be considerably smaller than in previous years. In 2022, the police and the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate seized no less than 684 tons of illegal fireworks, compared to 206 tons the year before.
According to a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service, the difference is mainly due to two large seizures that the police made last year, including one of 350,000 kilos in abandoned bunkers in Germany. “There were no such project-based studies this year. The focus was more on blacking out YouTube and Telegram channels where illegal fireworks are offered. As a result, many small quantities were seized, but not tons like in the bunkers.”
The Public Prosecution Service cannot say why the police chose this approach. A spokesperson for the police department also had no answer on Saturday evening.
“The weight of the seized fireworks is also smaller because there are many batches of Cobras among them,” continues the Public Prosecution Service spokesperson. Criminals often use these heavy fireworks for bomb attacks. “They weigh a lot less but are more powerful than other fireworks.”
In The Hague, people were also able to voluntarily hand in their banned fireworks this week. News agency ANP writes that this resulted in thirteen kilos of fireworks.
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